LAST PATAGONIAN NON-AVIAN THEROPODS

RODOLFO A. CORIA Y LEONARDO SALGADO

THE CARNIVOROUS DINOSAURS

Indiana University Press

Lugar: Bloomington; Año: 2005; p. 153 - 160

Isolated theropod remains are reported from uppermost terrestrial Cretaceous sediments (Allen Formation) from Salitral Moreno (northern Patagonia, Río Negro Province). The assemblage is composed of many disarticulated, weathered, and isolated cranial and postcranial elements assigned to the Theropoda. The bones include a fragmentary braincase, caudal vertebrae, and limbs elements. No apomorphical features have been identified to link these elements with the typical South American abelisaurs and carcharodontosaurs. In contrast, the low and slender caudal centra, dorsomedially oriented femoral head, and laterally compressed proximal metatarsal III suggest higher tetanuran affinities. The stratigraphic provenance of all the material corresponds with a faunal association with both endemic South American and immigrant Nort American dinosaurs.